Racers in Isolation: Alessandro Pier Guidi

Sportscar365 is asking drivers from around the world what they’re doing during the COVID-19 pandemic and how they’re coping with the racing downtime.

Ferrari factory GT driver and last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans GTE-Pro class winner Alessandro Pier Guidi (Twitter/Instagram) features in this edition.

Where are you sitting out the COVID-19 pandemic?

I came back to my mother’s home in Italy to help her, because she is not so young anymore and I would prefer to keep her in the house all the time during the quarantine.

How have you been keeping busy during the motorsport dry spell?

Well for sure I have a lot of time for myself, even if I prefer to be busy. I have been doing a lot of shopping at the supermarket; especially at the beginning I realized to find what I need is sometimes more difficult than driving a race car!

Do you do sim racing? If so, tell us about your setup and the game/s you use.

Unfortunately, where I’m spending the lockdown I do not have a sim, so I’m just able to watch some virtual races.

What TV shows/films have you enjoyed watching recently, or books if you’re more of a reader?

I’m not a big fan of series because it takes too much time to find out the ending! And I personally don’t watch too much TV because I really hate to stay sat on the sofa.

Even in this period, I am trying to invent many homework tasks just to stay busy during the day. But I have to choose, I like action movies.

What was the first motorsport event that you attended, or an early one that you remember particularly well?

The first one as a spectator was an F1 Grand Prix at Monza with my father.

I was really young and I don’t remember exactly which year it was, but I remember well being able to take a picture of Ayrton Senna’s car in the straight between Lesmo and Variante Ascari. I have been really lucky.

As a driver, my first motorsport memory was in 1994 – my first go-kart race. I was super excited and my mechanics were my father and my mother!

Do you follow any other sports outside racing?

I follow almost all the sports…. sport is mainly the only thing I watch on TV. For a soccer team, I support AC Milan.

What was your first car, and what was the best thing about it?

My first road car was a Volkswagen Golf, I was really in love with it.

I have really good memories because for myself – and I think for almost all boys – to drive a car on the road means to become an adult. It is a symbol of the end of your teenage years.

What’s the one thing you are most looking forward to the first day you return to a racetrack?

I can’t wait to sit in my seat, buckle the belt and drive out of the box. I really miss my 488 GTE.

But more than this, I want us to be back on the track also for all the people working in motorsport. They are less known than us drivers, but they play a really important role and this period is very difficult for them, more than for us.